‘Grinder of the Year’ winner named

Fabio Schoppet was the delighted winner of the two-day live ‘Grinder of the Year’ competition held last month at the GrindingHub exhibition in Stuttgart. The 28-year-old apprentice from KH Müller Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH won against Max Bergner (2nd place), Laurin Mink (3rd) and Arman Hamidi (4th). All finalists received training vouchers worth between 3000 and 500 euros.

“The competition was a challenge,” says Schoppet, “but it was really fun and a very cool experience. I made a lot of great contacts and had some enjoyable conversations. When I realised that I was the winner, I was pretty overwhelmed. It was an absolute highlight.” After completing his apprenticeship, Schoppet wants to use his 3000 euro voucher to finance a course at an engineering school.

More information www.grindinghub.de/en

Datron celebrates move to new headquarters

High-speed milling machine manufacturer Datron AG celebrated its move into its new headquarters in Ober-Ramstadt with a high-profile ceremony. Around 80 guests from politics, business, government, banking, as well as planning and construction, gathered to mark the milestone together with Datron. Following the event, attendees were given a tour of the new corporate headquarters building, which has approximately 17,000 m² of floor space on a 45,000 m² site. The technical section of the facility houses the technology centre, milling shop, training workshop and assembly areas.

More information www.datron.com

Tornos boosts machinability and chip management

Eural Gnutti, a global specialist in drawn aluminium alloy bars for machining, is working with Tornos France to demonstrate the machining and performance advantages of its lead-free 2033 aluminium alloy for high-precision applications.

Tornos France, part of the Swiss-based Tornos Group, is a major manufacturer of sliding-head and precision turning machines, serving sectors such as automotive, medical and luxury goods. The collaboration reflects growing industry demand for sustainable, lead-free materials capable of delivering high machining performance without compromising process reliability or surface quality.

At the centre of the project is Eural’s 2033 alloy, developed specifically to provide high machinability, chip control and operational consistency during high-speed machining. The material has proven particularly effective in supporting precision turning operations involving tight tolerances and demanding production cycles.

The alloy is attracting strong interest from luxury goods and watchmaking manufacturers seeking alternatives to traditional leaded brass materials. In addition to meeting increasing environmental and regulatory requirements, the alloy delivers bright, uniform surface finishes suitable for decorative treatments and coatings, including gold, silver and palladium.

To demonstrate the alloy’s capabilities, Tornos showcased a live machining application at the recent Simodec exhibition in France using its Swiss XT lathe. The machine produced a metal pocketknife featuring a handle machined entirely from Eural 2033 alloy, alongside stainless steel and titanium components. The demonstration highlighted the material’s high chip fragmentation, machining stability and surface finish.

“This application showed the efficiency of Tornos machines when machining a high-performance material such as Eural Gnutti’s 2033 alloy,” states Patrice Armeni, director of Tornos France.

Sébastien Vadillo, sales Manager France at Eural Gnutti, adds: “The collaboration enabled us to identify the optimal machining parameters and confirm the value of 2033 in new application areas.”

More information www.eural.com

Mastercam buys Cadline

Mastercam Italia, an affiliate of Mastercam, has completed its strategic acquisition of Cadline, a long-standing Mastercam channel partner. With the transaction signed and sealed, Cadline is now operating as Mastercam Italia, expanding Mastercam’s direct presence across the Italian manufacturing market. “This marks an important milestone for Mastercam and our customers in Italy,” states Russ Bukowski, president of Mastercam. “Customers will benefit from closer collaboration, faster technical support and solutions tailored to their regional manufacturing needs.” 

More information www.mastercam.com

AMTS 2026

The Shanghai International Automotive Manufacturing Technology & Materials Exhibition (AMTS) will return to the Shanghai New International Expo Centre on 8-10 July, bringing together global automotive engineering and manufacturing professionals for its 2026 edition. Organised by RX, AMTS 2026 is expected to feature more than 850 exhibitors and attract 70,000 professionals. The event will present technologies and solutions for processes that include car body stamping, welding, machining and plenty more. Pre-registration is now open. Visitors who register in advance will receive free admission.

More information www.shanghaiamts.com.cn/en